A Reliable Carrier for Your Dedicated Services:

As a shipper, you understand the current economic times and how important it is to find a reliable carrier to affordably move your product on budget and on time. As your needs continue to increase, sourcing your carriers has grown into a hard point and deliveries may have been missed because of the lack of resources you have as a business. That is why partnering with a freight broker can provide you with a reliable carrier for all your shipping needs.  

Sparrow Logistics specializes in building strong relationships with every client, carrier, and employee that comes alongside us in this journey. This relationship is founded on our experience in the industry and ensuring our values align with those we work with. We pride ourselves on being honest, transparent, and positive in each encounter with our team. We take pride in those we work with and ensure we are always working with the best. That is shown in our relationships with our dedicated carriers and your experience when partnering with us.  

While you consider which freight broker can bring you dedicated carriers, have you thought about the process of how brokers source carrier networks? What do freight brokers look for in a trucking company during the vetting process? How do they ensure they are working with the best? 

Our team’s combined experience of being in the industry for more than 25 years has allowed us to continuously keep building onto our carrier network. Our network goes through an extensive vetting and screening process to ensure our carriers meet the Sparrow Standard.  

Let’s break down how brokers: 

• Choose a reliable carrier 

• Maintain long-lasting carrier relationships 

• Find new carriers  

While giving this insight, we give you recommendations on how to partner with the best freight broker with dedicated carriers.  

The Sparrow Standard:  

We believe that each person we work with is far more than a one-and-done deal – it’s a relationship always worth our time, respect, and effort. We can’t accomplish anything without each other, so we treat each person in the partnership as they deserve and nothing less. So, each carrier and customer we work with goes through a vetting and screening process. This starts with our team: 

1. Checking the amount of insurance, the carrier holds. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) legally requires carriers to hold $1 million in Auto Liability Insurance. We ensure our carrying partners meet the FMCSA’s standards.  

2. Carrier Compliance, Safety, and accountability (CSA) Rating: the FMCSA analyzes a carrier’s Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) scores and uses them to hold carriers accountable for their work. The FMCSA has four categories' carriers can rank in as defined as: 

   • None: this rating is given to a carrier who hasn’t been audited by the FMCSA. It is admissible and carriers with this are widely accepted by reputable brokers.  

   • Satisfactory: This rating is given to a carrier who either meets or exceeds the FMCSA’s guidelines for administrative safety practices. 

   • Conditional: A rating that is given when most of the FMCSA’s safety guidelines are met. If a carrier falls in this category, they are not allowed to haul for Sparrow. 

   • Unsatisfactory: This rating is applied to a company that — following its audit — is found to have many deficiencies. If a carrier falls in this category, they are not allowed to haul for Sparrow.  

3. Level of Active Authority: for a carrier to be dispatched a load, they must have the federally mandated level of active authority to legally haul freight. We ensure each carrier we work with has the authority to operate.  

4. We value industry-leading platforms such as Carrier411 to make it easy to research, qualify, and monitor carriers based on their safety, FMCSA compliance, performance, and other transportation metrics.  

5. Sparrow’s Rating System: our experience in the transportation industry allows us to identify the key standards we have when deciding to work with a carrier. We go through the process of running the carrier's MC number through a national database as well as an internal database. Once this MC is validated, we dig deeper to check the carrier's “Safety” rating and scores. Currently, we have found an overwhelming number of double-brokers increasing so it is essential to ensure you know who you are working with. 

 
It is particularly important to know what questions to ask and what to look for when running the MC number. Once we get through this level of vetting, our internal onboarding system pulls another set of safety scores, carrier infractions, and insurance records. When a carrier passes the Sparrow Standard, they are able to be onboarded. Sparrow managers are alerted when a “new” carrier onboards and can check the carrier's eligibility to haul for Sparrow.   

How do Freight Brokers Maintain Long-Lasting Relationships with Carriers?  

The most successful freight brokers have built long-lasting mutually benefiting relationships with a network of reliable carriers. Our team starts by learning about what the goals of the carrier are and how we can partner together to accomplish them. We pride ourselves on providing an honest, transparent, and positive experience for our carriers every time.  

But how are new carriers found?  

While you work with Sparrow, you will understand it is more than a transaction. We care about you. That shows through us continuously making an impact within the supply chain and transportation industry. We showcase this by having: 

• High level of industry experience 

• An extensive nationwide network of partner carriers  

New carriers are added frequently to our network through internal databases through digital freight matching tools that allow carriers to find loads on lines that are preferred to them and inquire within. An extra benefit at Sparrow is our own internal efforts to acquire new carriers through marketing initiatives. This extra value increases Sparrow Logistics’ ability to meet our customers’ needs.  

How to Partner with the Best Freight Broker with Dedicated Carriers:

Find someone you can trust! Partnering with a freight broker that can meet your business shipping needs on time and within budget is so important. At Sparrow, we understand how important it is to meet your goals, that is why we pride ourselves on doing business right each step of the way. Our team makes a difference with the experience we provide to our clients, carriers, and employees we work with.  Want to work with the best? Contact us today: https://www.sparrowlogistics.co/contact